Happy Garden - February 14, 2008

Today we have a great article by Ellen Brown about starting seedlings indoors. She also answers a couple questions sent in by readers. If you have a gardening question for Ellen and the rest of the ThriftyFun community, feel free to submit it here:

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Thanks for reading,

Susan

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Photos:

• Home Made Suet

Tips and Articles:

• Caring For Cut Flowers
• Are Raised Beds Better for a Vegetable Garden?
• 4 Steps To Figuring Out When To Start Seeds Indoors
• African Violet's Leaves are Turning Yellow
• Gardening This Season - What's Hot and What's Not
• Dollar General Clogs
• Make a Garden Holder for Your Cell Phone
• Compost Stems From Flower Arranging
• Add Fireplace Ashes to Fertilize Planting Beds

New Requests:

• Avocado's Leaves are Browning
• What is This Flower?
• Perennial Plant Suggestions
• Getting Rid Of Goat Heads
• How Do Egg Shells and Coffee Grounds Help Plants?
• Foxgloves Coming Up from Seeds
• Saving My Broken Cactus

Crafting for Fun and Money!

If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish.

More Information:
Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml

Home Made Suet

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Caring For Cut Flowers

Did you get some cut flowers? Here's a little prep work you can do to make them last longer. Using pruning sheers, make a fresh cut at the bottom of the stem. Do this under running water. Don't use scissors for this, they will crush the stems and make it harder for them them to absorb water. Strip away all leaves that will be below the water line of the vase. Those leaves will rot more quickly if you don't remove them. Make sure to clean out the vase before putting the new flowers in. Change the water once a day add 2 tablespoons of sugar to act as preservatives for your flowers.

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Are Raised Beds Better for a Vegetable Garden?

Question:

My late husband was the vegetable gardener, he passed away last yr. My daughter tried to do some in his honor but it didn't work out. I would like to try again with a few that we enjoy, like tomatoes, peppers, onions, potatoes, etc. I have seen on TV people doing raised gardens. Is this a better way to do them and what needs to be done. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Ruth from Ontario, Canada

Answer:

Hi Ruth,

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your husband. Personally, I'm a big fan of raised beds for growing both vegetables and flowers. Raised beds are simple to construct and easier (in my opinion) to maintain. You never walk on them, just in between them, and they can be built in all types of shapes and sizes and to whatever height suits you.

Constructing them is straightforward. Start by selecting a suitable site (full sun for vegetables). Try to allow enough space in between each bed (2 to 3 feet) so you have enough room for walking, as well as maneuvering your garden cart or wheelbarrow. Remove the sod from the site by slicing just below the roots using a flat bladed or regular pointed blade shovel. Soak the area with water a few days before digging to make this job easier.

Once the sod and existing weeds are cleared away, dig down at least 18-24 inches into the exposed soil to turn over and loosen it up. This is also a good time to place plastic edging around the perimeter of your beds to keep grass from moving in and taking over. Mix in some fresh topsoil and a bit of compost to bring the soil level up to an few inches below the height of your framing material.

Frame the sides of you beds with cinder blocks, bricks, landscaping timbers or rock. If using commercial landscaping timbers, make sure they are untreated in order to avoid leaching chemicals into your soil. If using railroad ties, avoid new ties, as they contain a lot of creosote. Secure wood framing together with bolts or by pounding metal stakes into the ground on either side of the timbers to hold them in place.

Good luck to you!

Ellen

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4 Steps To Figuring Out When To Start Seeds Indoors
By Ellen Brown

For slow maturing plants and gardeners with short growing seasons, starting seeds indoors can be a crucial element to achieving success. To figure out the optimal time to start your seeds indoors, all you really need is a bit of backwards thinking.

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Gardening This Season - What's Hot and What's Not
By Ellen Brown

Every year a leading garden research group releases a report citing the gardening trends for the upcoming gardening season. You and I actually create the data for this report, according to how we spend our gardening dollars over the previous 2 years. So here is what we decided would be "Hot" and "Not" for the 2008 gardening season.

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Dollar General Clogs

I wanted to recommend these shoes I got today at Dollar General for only $4. They are super comfy and lightweight plastic slipons. i will love to scoot them on to go outside for mail or firewood or to take out the trash. They are clog like with the old style"earth shoe" toe and are vented on top. Not the prettiest shoes on the market but HEY!

These would probably be good out in the garden too because they can be hosed off easily!

By Veronica

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Make a Garden Holder for Your Cell Phone

Stay in touch while gardening by making a holster for a cordless phone out of an old shoe. Nail an old shoe to a stake and place it in the garden to hold the phone. Now there's no more running back into the house to grab the phone, and the phone stays out of the dirt.

Source: Typical Mary Ellen

By Mom of 1 from Wilkesboro, NC

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Compost Stems From Flower Arranging

I love fresh flowers and buy carnations every two weeks. (carnations last for a very long time). Since I usually get two large sprays from Costco, there are a lot of stems to cut, and to throw away.

While cutting the stems over the kitchen sink, I collect the tips. Then when I am finished, I just scoop the stems in which the flowers came. I am cautious of what I throw in the garbage disposal. Then I can just add the stems to the compost pile or toss them neatly.

This will not win me any prizes, but it sure makes my flower arranging easier!

By Christine from Sterling, Virginia

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Add Fireplace Ashes to Fertilize Planting Beds

Don't know what to do with those ashes? This is a tip for those who have ash from a wood burner or fireplace. Place it in your garden or flower beds over winter, not all in the same place, just here and there. In spring as you till/working the ash in the ground, you'll find how it makes your ground so much more lose and easy to work with. I also think there is some added fertilizer that naturally comes from the ash. It really does good things to your ground. Can't wait for spring, have had enough of winter. Here in WI.

By Adele from Sheboygan Falls, WI

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Avocado's Leaves are Browning

My 3 year old avocado's new leaves are browning.

Hardiness Zone: 7a

Jamie from Hampton, VA

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What is This Flower?

Can anyone tell me what is the name of this flower? When I bought it last week it was still blooming, but now it's dying. Any tips for growing them will be very much appreciated.

Hardiness Zone: 11

chphoea from Surabaya,Indonesia

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Perennial Plant Suggestions

I have placed a single row of cement blocks to help retain the soil on a slope in my backyard. Could anyone suggest a plant or flower which I could plant in each of the holes in the top of the blocks? Possibly a perennial which would spread over the side and hide the blocks.

Hardiness Zone: 8a

Daisy from Waverly Hall, GA

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Getting Rid Of Goat Heads

Goat Head plants are THICK in the yard. The whole yard is covered! Each year the problem multiplies. I have tried spot spraying with Round Up. It kill that plant, but doesn't seem to kill seeds that are ready to sprout.

I have been pulling weeds for 3 days now, and the stickers that lay on the ground seem to jump at you when you try to pull up the weeds. I am on very low income, so if you can help, I would really appreciate it.

Also, once I get rid of the plants, do you have any suggestions on how to get the spurs out of the yard so that we can finally walk on it again?

Hardiness Zone: 9b

Susan from San Bernardino, CA

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How Do Egg Shells and Coffee Grounds Help Plants?

What nutrients do egg shells and coffee grounds have in them that help plants?

Hardiness Zone: 8a

Gary from Quitman, TX

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Foxgloves Coming Up from Seeds

I had Foxglove blooming for the first time last year. They dropped seed and all kinds of new plants came up in the fall but then were frozen off. Does this mean that I will not have any come up from seed this spring? I know they are normally a biennial but want to know if the plants will come up.

Hardiness Zone: 5b

Elaine from Iowa

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Saving My Broken Cactus

My cactus fell over and broke where the orange mark is (I was moving it a bit). It didn't completely get severed. Is there any way I can save it from dying? I've had it since it was 4in., it's now about 24in. big. Please help. This happened Jan. 30, 2008. Thanks Fran.

Fran from Canada

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Crafting for Fun and Money!

If you are an avid crafter, capable writer and own a digital camera, you are eligible to participate. Submit your craft projects to ThriftyFun and we will pay $15 for any crafts that we publish.

More Information:
Click Here: http://www.thriftyfun.com/post_craft.ldml